With the dust from EuroSim beginning to settle it gives us an opportunity to reflect on the experience in Rochester, NY.

The simulation itself was a challenging mix of early starts (a departure from student living) and intense negotiations. From an undergraduate perspective this simulation gave us skills ranging from people management to bargaining, skills which will bear fruit throughout the rest of our study and future career. Leading to the belief that this was a tremendously useful and worthwhile experience.

The United States of America, as a country, was almost exactly as we expected, tall buildings, massive food portions and a palpable sense of optimism and self-belief. For some it was our first visit, with years of watching American films and television we were anxious to see if the real world experience matched up; while America is a much bigger place than just New York, it did match up to our high expectations.

One of the best parts of the negotiation as a whole was how seamlessly students from different countries, universities and cultures came together in order to find a common framework by which to negotiate. This homogeneity culminated in a diplomatic ball on the final evening which was well received after a challenging few days of talks. It is safe to say friends were made, despite differences in opinion.

This simulation has allowed all of us to better understand how to get the most from the people you work with, a vital skill in the modern job market and more generally to a successful life! Shaun Keen was particularly adept at this, taking charge of a divided agricultural committee in order to forge a path towards a common position, a job which earned him a well deserved award on the final day.

Looking to the future, we believe this experience will have provided us not just with an impressive addition to our CV (although it has), but also a skillset which is difficult to develop otherwise within a formal education. We are clear within our recommendation that this experience needs to continue, and if possible expand, in order to provide future cohorts of students with these same learned abilities.

It is with great regret that in my capacity as Director General of Digital Europe I must produce this press report on the lack of any coherent direction, funding or interest in digitalisation by the EU.

Despite my repeated references to our 2025 plan with regards to massive job losses of 52% across all sectors due to AI; there is no concerted interest in investing in upskilling for these people. It has unfortunately become clear that the EU is not interested in the jobs of ordinary hard-working Europeans and has instead decided to focus on a migration crisis that has come to an end and climate change, two issues that AI has the capacity to assist with.

Indeed an unnamed GAC member said they did not want to invest in AI due to these job losses, an incredibly short-sighted and narrow-minded statement. Let me be clear, AI is coming to our economy whether we like it or not, we must prepare for it by protecting the most vulnerable people in low-skilled jobs by providing them training in areas of technology so that they are not left behind.

As a pro-European interest group we are despondent in having to write these words here rather than addressing the honourable members of the EP and GAC, but I feel I am left with no option. Should any member wish to discuss these issues I strongly urge them to voice their views within their committees and to call on me to provide information on this topic before it is too late and we are left behind in a globalised, AI utilising world economy.

Cecelia Bonefeld-Dahl

Director General of Digital Europe

With the orientations and opening speeches over we are moving to begin with the first organised day of meetings and negotiations.

Generally the negotiations have begun successfully, with representations of actors being closely followed. Shaun Keen as the chair of the agriculture committee has been a strong leader in the first round of negotiations, leading and guiding proceedings with great effect. With the first day jitters out of the way we are all excited to make our voices heard and provide a framework by which fruitful conclusions can be brought.

Clearly some universities have less experience in negotiations than others but we can already see great progress as they get used to the style and format. We finished the day with a trip to a local brewhouse in order to sample local beer and debrief the days events. Looking forward to another busy day tomorrow!

We are now on our way to the United States of America, stopping by Dublin airport to transfer. We are very excited to get there in order to start the official Eurosim experience. We look forward to meeting the students from the other universities, to get to know them and their negotiating style.

We are a little bit nervous but at the same time we cannot wait to put in practice the skills we developed this past semester. We did our best to take into consideration the advice given to us, in order to improve our negotiation skills. Having already learnt a lot about the European Union; this upcoming experience will allow us to discover more about the institutions that govern 512 million people. We hope to get the most out of the upcoming debates on issues by engaging fully with the simulation.

Evolving in a different context than our usual classroom will surely be enlightening. Our overall experience has enabled us to be more open minded by embodying different characters with opposing political positions.

“When we imagine an alien planet we rarely imagine it to be divided into countries, because that would be, you know, backwards” Neel Burton

Hello and welcome to our blog!

Some of you might be wondering what EuroSim is, what it is for and why we are undertaking this trip at all, this post is here to answer these questions. 

What is EuroSim?

EuroSim is a module conducted by Patrycja Rozbicka with the help of Luke John Davies at Aston University. It teaches students negotiation techniques and skills by simulating European Union processes.

What is EuroSim for?

The purpose of this module is to educate students about the inner-workings of the European Union in order to enhance the learning experience for students. The top students are selected for a trip to either Brussels, or this year New York, where they engage in the same techniques but on a larger scale. 

Why are we undertaking the trip?

The purpose of the trip is to put into practice the learning behind the module, but in a much larger simulation. It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet other students, network and learn in an organised environment. 

“What is now the EU was set up so that France and Germany could hug each other so tightly in a loving embrace that neither would be able to get an arm free with which to punch the other.”  Tim Marhsall: Prisoners of Geography